News & Press

The Board of Directors of the Ferrer Foundation is proud to announce Planting Seeds Of Hope, our annual holiday reception, in partnership with Mariani Landscape and the Conant Family Foundation. The evening promises to be an intimate and festive holiday setting for movers and shakers in Chicago's arts and culture sectors to connect.

On March 3, the Ferrer Foundation hosted “Peace & Hope – One Child at aTime” at the venerable home goods and interior design studio Norcross and Scott. Held from 6 to 9 p.m., the cocktail reception benefited the Ferrer Foundation’s mission of fostering a positive path to success for underserved youth in Chicago. 100% of ticket proceeds support the Ferrer Foundation’s critical programming, which includes activities such as excursions to Chicago attractions, mentorship by area business leaders, yoga and meditation integration and more. Norcross and Scott also donated 20% of the evening’s sales to the Ferrer Foundation. Additionally, Meg McCabe of Meg McCabe Studio introduced her new pillow collection, Featherkind, and donated 10% of all profits from the evening’s sales to the organization.

On Monday December 7th, Mariani Landscape hosted its third annual Canning for Kids fundraising event at its Holiday Shoppe in Lake Bluff. This year’s event raised nearly $4,000 for The Ferrer Foundation...read more.

For those who came out on December 8th at the Chicago Design Museum for an evening of art, awareness and inspiration, we thank you for your incredible support of Ferrer youth! Designing Hope for Chicago was a huge, wonderful success and we are so grateful to all that contributed to making the event such a memorable night.

The artwork and messages of peace and hope that they communicate are powerful and have been embraced by our community. Because we feel we can reach a larger audience with these important prints, we have decided to offer a limited run of the posters to the broader community via Kickstarter.

For the next month, stop by our campaign, collect more of your favorite posters from the series and share our campaign with your friends and family. Every sale helps further the Ferrer mission and allows our message to reach more people.

The Ferrer Foundation and Chicago Design Museum Partner For A Fundraiser To Support Youth In Violent Chicago Communities

Designing Hope For Chicago Features A One-Night Only Poster

Exhibition Of Top Chicago Design Talent

Chicago, IL — November 20, 2014 – On December 8th from 6-9pm, the Ferrer Foundation and Chicago Design Museum will partner for a very special fundraiser to support youth affected by violence in our city. With a shared belief that community and cause-based organizations can fundamentally improve the human condition, Designing Hope For Chicago aims to bring the community together for an evening of art, awareness and inspiration.

The event includes a one-night only poster exhibition and silent auction featuring a dozen of Chicago’s finest designers, all who have donated their talent to create original works of art for the evening. The exclusive posters will be available for purchase via silent auction. Participating designers include Brandon Breaux, Sara Frisk, Upendo Taylor, Cody Hudson, Will Miller, Threadless, Jason Pickleman, Ishmael Adams, Kyle Poff, Mike Renaud, Nico Gibson, Elise Swopes, and Michael Savona.

“There’s a whole group of children in a zip code that most of us only read about, and the support and awareness from this event will give them a chance to be heard,” said Ferrer Founder Meghan Olson. “The funds raised will directly impact their lives in such a positive way.”

Tanner Woodford, co-founder of Chicago Design Museum said, “I find it humbling that our community consistently and generously supports causes, social issues, and one another. ChiDM is honored to work with the Ferrer Foundation to further two organizations that are making a difference.”

Event Details:

December 8th

6-9pm

Chicago Design Museum

@Block Thirty Seven, 108 N State St, 3rd floor, Chicago

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $20 via Eventbrite or for $25 at the door:

All proceeds from the evening will be used to support Ferrer Foundation and Chicago Design Museum programming.

About Ferrer Foundation:

The Ferrer Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Chicago with a mission to inspire peace and hope for children living in these underserved communities whose lives are directly impacted by the headlines we read about. As a cause-based organization that is dedicated to empowering and enriching the lives of these Chicago youth, the Ferrer Foundation provides a range of programming and support including educational wellness, yoga, violence prevention, motivational tools, and mentoring. www.ferrerfoundation.org

About Chicago Design Museum:

The Chicago Design Museum is a nascent, non-profit, and non-traditional organization that aims to unite, inform, and inspire through limited-engagement exhibitions, events, and public programs. As a community-based organization, the Chicago Design Museum facilitates an open dialogue about contemporary and historical design and believes design should be accessible to everyone—including many of the Chicago youth who rarely get the opportunity to be exposed to creativity, design, and inspiration. www.chidm.com

A local woman is channeling one of the darkest times of her life to create a brighter life for children on the city's West Side.

Meghan Olson is using yoga to help children boost confidence and resist violence.

Students at Nash Elementary School on the city's West Side are learning the principles and techniques of yoga through a program called Keeping the Peace, which is funded by the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority and aimed at students who have a parent who is incarcerated. Olson started the program as a way to give back from her shared experience.

"My father was incarcerated in Puerto Rico. Our family had such support around us. I had always been involved with children on the West Side of Chicago and I saw the need there," Olson said. "I see children who are shut down, mislabeled. I see children who are angry."

Shatoria Boyce admits she was one of those angry children. Her father has spent ten years in prison.

Her mother says participating in the group has helped the 14-year-old manage her emotions.

"At first, I didn't really know what yoga was. So I'm like, you doing yoga to calm you down? And I'm like, show me what yoga is, and she showed me what it is and I said yeah, it can take your mind off a couple of things. It's quiet and you're doing exercise," Michelle Houston said.

Other students say the camaraderie of like-minded children and understanding adults offers invaluable support.

"I feel safer here and people can comfort you like when you feel sad and stuff. Like it was this one time when I was kind of sad then when I came in here everybody gathered around me and gave me a hug," Sania Franklin, seventh grade, said.

Students also say the program helps keeps them focused on following a different path.

"I feel that I should try to stray myself from doing anything wrong with an illegal intent and keep myself away from the gangs ? completely," Tyrone Fullilove, Jr., eighth grade, said.

Participants in Keeping the Peace also have access to individual mentoring and family counseling sessions in the evening.

Meghan Olson has spent her adult life as an advocate for children. She is the executive director of The Ferrer Foundation, which she founded in 2007 with a mission to help children with an incarcerated parent. Its broader goal is to “implement educational wellness, violence prevention and motivational, strength-based programming for children in underserved communities and schools” in Chicago.

This past summer, Jennifer Diamond combined her skills as a yoga instructor and psychologist to teach yoga, mindfulness, and meditation to children ages 10 to 13 who have a parent in prison. The program, called Keeping the Peace, was created by the Ferrer Foundation. The foundation provides interdisciplinary programming, spanning health, holistic wellness, tutoring, social guidance, and experiential opportunities, specifically for children of people who are incarcerated.

WomenOnCall is a unique, online network that connects women with specific volunteer opportunities that allow them to share their professional skills with nonprofits. The Ferrer Foundation was profiled on their blog, and you can read about it here.